Washington Post reporter Isabelle Khurshudyan says Alex Ovechkin's Olympic stance has softened, yet she knows Ovie still wants to play in the upcoming games in South Korea. Isabelle says an Olympic gold medal is very important to Ovechkin who might be facing his last chance to play in the games.

Alexander Ovechkin said when the NHL announced its decision not to allow players to attend the 2018 Winter Olympic Games in PyeongChang he would be going anyways. Now, however, the Washington Capitals superstar sounds slightly more subdued in his plans for next February.

Evgeny Kuznetsov cashed on an eight-year, $62.4 million contract as a restricted free agent earlier this month and Washington Capitals general manager Brian MacLennan admitted KHL interest led to the team paying extra to keep the Russian centre.

Slava Malamud joins the Afternoon Ride to discuss the possible quandary the NHL and their teams could be in if Alexander Ovechkin attends the 2018 Winter Olympics. Malamud also talks about how the KHL has been directed to improve the Russian national team.

While this year’s NHL Free Agent Frenzy wasn’t blessed with superstars, it was still a busy time, with many players bouncing from team to team. Scott Cullen breaks down the rest of the moves from the first week of July.

After winning Presidents' Trophy and losing in the second round of the Eastern Conference playoffs two years in a row, Marcus Johansson knew the Washington Capitals were going to make changes. Coming off a career-best season, the 26-year-old Swede just didn't think he would be one the guys leaving Washington.

The Washington Capitals have re-signed goaltender Philipp Grubauer to a one-year, $1.5 million contract extension. Grubauer, a restricted free-agent, posted a 13-6-2 record with a .926 save percentage and a 2.04 goals against average in 24 games last season with the Capitals.